The Tribune

EIGHT Bahamian athletes competed against those from 72 other countries at the Judo World Juniors tournament in Miami, Florida.

“They received draws against tough competitors with impressive records. They put up a good showing but in the end no one made it past the first round. All fighters performed at their personal best, looking competitive in the matches and many of them lasting over two minutes of the four-minute matches,” according to a press release.

Andrew Munnings, Desmond Bootle, Desmondo Bootle, Joshua McFall, Ozeke Swain, Kentico Forbes, Cynthia Rahming and Elaina Cuffy faced opponents from Greece, Guatemala, Portugal, Japan, Hungary, Bulgaria, Brazil and Kazakhstan respectively.

Cynthia Rahming, who fought top seeded Brazil for two minutes and 57 seconds, said it was a good experience. “It’s definitely an improvement on my Commonwealth Games performance against a more seasoned opponent. Although I trained to win.”

In the team matches the Bahamas drew Mongolia, which is known for its excellence in judo. “On the one hand it might have been better for them to draw a less strong country but on the other hand if you are going to have a go you might as well go for one of the high class competitors,” said Sheldon Franco, Rooks International judo commentator for IJF TV, which is seen by over 150 countries and territories.

Said team coach D’Arcy Rahming Jr: “There is a fairly strong competitive element that brings Bahamian fighters very quickly to international competition. There is the hope that a lot of fighters will come back to the Bahamas and spread judo. Bahamas Judo president D’Arcy Rahming will leave a long lasting legacy for the work that he has done.”

“This was our introduction as a team to world judo. I would like to thank all of our sponsors and all who made this possible. This is the first time ever a Bahamian judo team has competed at a world event. Everyone trained very hard for it and although they did not win, they represented us well. I am very proud of each and everyone of them.”

Persons wishing to enrol in Bahamas Judo programmes can contact Bahamas Judo at alllstarbahamas@gmail.com